Induction to the Companions
by Shadowed Morae
Summary: Morae, an Altmer new to Skyrim, finds himself fleeing from Aela, Ria, and Farkas after leaping in to help them fight a Giant plundering the fields of Pelagia Farm. What did he do to reign their anger upon him, and why won't they accept a surrender? Will he be able to apologize for his misgivings? Quick Drabble. Plz R


There was literally only one path he could take as he was forced to duck under the swinging greatsword if he wanted to avoid the strike. The mysterious high elf hustled down the road, weaving back and forth as his assailant continued his barrage of attacks. He'd given up trying to talk to the man, Morae obviously wasn't getting anywhere with his purser other than being run through with an over-grown skyforge steel sword. Of course it didn't help any that the long-legged Nord woman was also rapidly firing arrows at him from the Giant's corpse back on the farm. Luckily, he'd managed to get out of her range before more than a couple arrows had skimmed his skin and torn his new robes, and the little Imperial woman had no hope of catching him. Another little relief, but he still had the brute hot on his heels. But Morae was determined not to raise arms against him. For one, he couldn't get far enough away to efficiently use spells on his attacker, two, he was sure it would only make their aggravation with him that much worse, and three, he just wasn't that kind of person. He preferred to avoid conflicts where he could, and if that meant running with his tail between his legs, by Sovngarde, he'd run away with his tail between his legs! So ran he did, farther and farther away until he came upon a brewery. It was then that he realized his attacker had finally relented. Maybe now they would speak to him, listen to reason, maybe he could find out what he'd done to piss them off?

But as Morae approached the brute on his way back to the huntresses and giant's corpse, he drew his sword and chased the battlemage down again. _Ddaammnn!_ Morae screeched in silence as he spun around and ran again. The attack-and-evade cycle continued twice more before the disappointed mage finally skirted around the brute; he obviously wasn't going to listen to reason. Instead, the mage attempted to speak to the huntress. To his relief, she at least spoke to him. Claiming he'd make something of a decent shield-brother, but when Morae opened his mouth to respond, a vicious cry cut their conversation short as he leapt to the side in order to avoid the sword that struck the earth where he'd been standing and the little Imperial girl glowered up at him. Very clearly cursing him for avoiding her strike. But to his surprise instead of trying to stop her comrade, the huntress drew her bow again as the Imperial advanced with her onslaught of attacks, and their brutish bodyguard was coming up fast to help them! Morae cursed under his breath as he ducked and weaved around blade and arrow though he faltered slightly as he leapt over the small wall in hopes of outrunning his attackers as even the farmers rooted them on. What had he done?! All he had done was scale a small cliff, stumble upon a threesome of warriors struggling with a giant apparently uprooting a field of crops and he'd leapt in to help! "No good deed goes unpunished, eh?" He muttered under his breath as he jogged down the cobblestone path until he came upon a large rock formation off to the side. The brute hadn't yet caught up to them and he'd managed to build a bit of a distance between himself and the Imperial girl, so he quickly ducked behind the rock. Tucking himself against the formation, he waited. It took a few breathless minutes, but eventually the angry cries and screeches of the pissed off Imperial ceased and she stamped back towards the field of her companions.

Only when Morae leaned around his hiding place with panting breaths, was it that he saw why the warriors were so relentless in their attack. The still smoldering char mark was proof enough. He'd accidentally skimmed the Imperial with his flames when he'd leapt in to help them fight the Giant. Yeah… That would piss off anyone, he concluded. And he couldn't even apologize to the woman… "This is why I can't stand working alongside warriors… They always leap in front of my spells." He muttered to himself, as he tugged lightly on his hood, pulling it further down over his face. He had to do something. He'd injured someone, or at least, he assumed he had. He couldn't just shrug that off, especially since he didn't have a qualm with that someone prior to the attack. It was an accident, and that meant he needed to apologize. With a roll of his shoulders, and the inhaling of a deep breath, Morae elected to follow the three warriors. From a safe distance.

He tried to be as inconspicuous as possible, but it was harder than one thought, trailing three trained warriors without alerting them to one's presence. Or without getting odd stares and muttered comments when one ducked behind a barrel that hid them from no one. The truth was, Morae just didn't feel like trying to be stealthy. He had to get some enjoyment out of trying to figure out how he was going to apologize to the warriors, and Imperial woman in particular, without getting his head cleaved off. As he very obviously stalked into the heart of the market district, crouched low to the ground, ignoring the blatant comments about his terrible sneaking and warnings from the guards, the high elf mentally ran through some dialogue options.

"_You're that one that helped fight that Giant, outside the city walls, aren't you? Yeah, I saw you, you were really great. I guess I'm just not as skilled as I thought considering I accidently hit you instead of the Giant when I tried to help out. I hope you don't hold it against me."_ That had a very flirtatious feel to it, something Morae didn't like in the least, and continued to the next option as he started up the stairway.

"_Hey, you, yeah, you. I hit you with my flames, remember?I just wanted to say sorry about that."_ That was sure to get him killed.

"_Here, that burn looks like it hurts. This might help."_ He could imagine making this comment handing over some ointment or something to aid in the healing process. But that kind of felt flirtatious too… Hissing under his breath at his own awkward nature, Morae was physically pulled out of his thoughts as he strode right into a large wooden door. A mead hall? Blinking, and wondering where his target had gotten away to, the Altmer turned his yellow gaze upwards at the engraved plaque announcing he'd arrived at Jorrvaskr. Cocking his head to the side, the elf reached carefully for the nearest door handle, sidling within.

As soon as he stepped inside, the door clicking softly shut behind him, Morae was literally knocked off balance as numerous warriors jostled past him, and the cries of a fight drew his attention to a semi-circle behind the large table which dominated most of the room. Two warriors were fighting each other while the others rooted them on, an older warrior off to the side making a snide comment about the two fighters going at it again. Though the comment dripped with disdain, he didn't move away or try to ignore the battle. He seemed as indulged by it as all the others, while Morae righted himself and readjusted his hood.

No one seemed to notice him, which he had to admit, he kind of liked; considering both the brute who'd nearly succeeded in hewing him in half and the long-legged archer were fixated on the duel. And he got the feeling from the archer's hungered stare at the fighters before her; she had purposefully missed actually hitting him. The thought of which sent chills down his spine and had him quickly retracing his steps. No telling what would happen if either of those two recognized him. He might be evading the whole hall.

But just as he thought he was safe, a heavy hand fell upon his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. "A new recruit, eh? Looking to be a Companion?" A disembodied voice spoke near his ear. It seemed a strange comment to Morae, considering he appeared to be something of a scholar rather than a warrior at first glance. He'd often been mistaken for one, in fact, no one usually took him seriously, until they were burning to a crisp at his feet. Jittering greatly in fear that one of the two warriors would draw interest in the comment as well, look up, and recognize him, Morae quickly spun around and opened his mouth to claim that no, he had not come to be a Companion. He found himself face-to-face with the older warrior who'd snidely commented on the fight. There was a hunger to his eyes, something that clearly told Morae to just do what this guy wanted. "Uh… Yeah." He muttered quietly, as the warrior hummed in approval before directing the elf to the opposite side of the room.

"Go down there, to the living quarters. Go straight back, to the end of the hall, you'll find Kodlak there. Talk to him. I think Vilkas is with him, so try not to be disrespectful." He added before his gaze turned away, back to the fight. Morae didn't waste any time, he took the opportunity to briskly walk to the back of the room where he found a narrow, and quite well hidden, stairwell which led to a closed door. Scurrying down the steps, the high elf all but ripped the door open, throwing himself through the gateway, and pressing himself back against it when the door swung shut again.

Releasing the breath he hadn't realized he was holding, Morae relaxed briefly before jumping in surprise at opening his eyes to find an elderly woman less than an arm's length in front of him. Somehow he kept from screaming, and felt ashamed at his jumpy state. Those two warriors really had him flustered, and the appearance of the third had only rattled his nerves more so. Maybe it was because he knew he was in hostile territory, but that didn't usually bother him. He'd delved headlong into the heart of a bandit camp without hesitation before. Maybe it was the odd hunger in their eyes? Their very presence seemed to scream "danger!" and had him reeling.

"Err… Uh…!" He quickly started realizing he must look like an idiot posed against the door, on his toes, muscles bunched, arms spread, and hands flattened against the wood. But apparently the elder didn't seem to notice as she commented that he would probably want to talk to one of the Companions, that she was just a maid. "I… Uh… Can you point me towards someone called Kodlak?" He quickly inquired as he forced his muscles to relax before anyone saw him. That would be a sight. Some strange elf, dressed as a mage, looking to speak to Kodlak about joining a league of warriors, when a little old woman could scare him out of his skin.

Not for the first time, Morae found himself glad no one had taken note of him, as the woman curtly nodded, and waved her broom down the hall. "That room, at the very end. You'll find Kodlak there," She concurred before waving him away from the door and heading back the way he'd come.


End file.
